stubborn nitrites

[eagles250]

Im having a small issue here. I cannot seem to get my nitrite level to drop. my readings were this as of last night:

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitirtes - 1 to 1.5ppm
Nitrates - 10ppm

Ive been doing water changes (30% to 50%) daily or every other day for almost the past week in an effort to drop those levels. the nitrate levels go down w/ every water change, not the nitrites. ive only had the tank set up w/ a fish in it for about a month and a half now. any suggestions as to what i could do here or am i doing something wrong?

Thanks!

 

[The Cable Guy]

Sounds like your tank hasn't finished cycling. Nitrites will drop as the bacteria that converts it to nitrates grow. Since they need nitrites to grow, doing water changes at this point slows the cycling process.
Let the tank be for a week and then test again...

 

[eagles250]

ok. i just wanted to be sure. I already lost a fish to high ammonia levels about a week ago and didnt want the same thing happening again. at what point do the nitrites become high enough to harm the fish??

 

[FroggyFox]

I would keep doing water changes like you have been...nitrites are also very harmful to your fish. I'd probably do a change if you see the level above 2ppm or so. Sounds like you're right on track 6 weeks into a fish-in cycle...just keep up with the water changes and magically sooner or later your nitrites will drop to 0. You probably wont have many nitrates because of the water changes you're doing.

 

[eagles250]

ok thanks! also, i have a bag of zeolilte ammonia absorber in my filter. my LFS store recommended it when i was having a high ammonia problem. should i remove this now that my ammonia is no longer a problem?

 

[MissFishy]

I've never been a fan of the ammonia absorber products, I would take it out, they seem to do funny things to cycles sometimes. Nitrite levels usually stay up for longer than ammonia levels. But they will drop quickly all at once. Especially if you have nitrates, they should be dropping soon!

 

[eagles250]

ok, ive been wanting to get rid of that thing for a little while now. i just wasnt sure if that bag would hold some beneficial bacteria and removing that would do harm at this point since its been in there for about a month.

 

[eagles250]

I removed that ammonia absorber bag and my nitrite levels dropped in a few days. I tested last night and all seems well. i think my tank if finally cycled now i would like to get a few new fish. i was thinking of getting 3 neon tetras and a molly (not all at once). that would give me 1 platy, 3 neon tetras, and 1 molly. would that be to much in a 10 gallon tank?